Brown Budget Increases School Funding, Proposes Rainy Day Fund

The budget obtained by Capital Public Radio projects that the state now has a $4.6 billion surplus for the current and upcoming fiscal years. That’s compared to a $25 billion deficit three years ago when Governor Brown was sworn in.

Among the headlines:

• K-through-12 schools and community colleges would get more than six billion dollars above what they’re getting this year.  
• The state would spend an extra 670 million dollars on expanding Medi-Cal under the federal health care law. 
• There’s more than 800 million dollars set aside for infrastructure projects – from state parks and highways to schools, courts and prisons. 
• And there’s a five percent increase in welfare grants.

Brown also wants to codify a budget reserve in the state’s constitution … replacing an existing law that’s not considered to be effective and a separate proposal – disliked by Democrats – that’s currently scheduled for the November ballot.

The governor originally planned to unveil the budget Friday, but just announced he’ll present Thursday at 9 a.m. after a copy was leaked Wednesday afternoon. 

Note: A previous version of this story had a different figure for the budget surplus. The Department of Finance's projected two-year budget surplus is at $4.6 billion.